Kantar: Windows Phone gains traction in Europe at iOS expense

The latest mobile operating system usage data from Kantar Worldpanel is out and the numbers show that Windows Phone is enjoying a slight rise in its market share in Europe. Year-on-year, Microsoft's mobile OS gained 0.7 percent points for the three-month period ending in August.

Interestingly, a large part of Windows Phone's success comes at the expense of iOS. Apple is losing traction in Germany, Italy, France and the UK. The largest drop is in Italy, where iOS currently takes 10.6%, down from 13.8% from a year ago.

Part of the good news for Microsoft is that in the UK, a key market for the company, Windows Phone has jumped the 10% mark and is at 10.3%. As for Android, it is also marking a significant increase in usage, save for Spain. There, it has declined to 88.1% down from 91.2% in the three months ending in August 2013.

However, things aren't all sunshine and roses for Windows Phone, as in China the mobile OS stands at just 0.6%, a 1.9 percent points decline from the same period last year. There's also a 1.7 percent points drop in Australia. In the US, things look up with a slight 0.8 percent points increase to 4.7%.

Across the board, Android is marking significant progress distancing itself from the pack. In Japan, Google;s OS has eaten a significant chunk of the iOS market share in a matter of an year. Android now stands at 70.2% market share up from 52.3% since last year, while Apple was 44.5% and now is down to 27.1%.

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